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Alex Scholz received an ID from his older brother as a Christmas gift when he was a sophomore at Chapman.

Timothy Wikipedia Olyphant Timothy Olyphant Scholz, a 21-year-old business administration major, said he used the old driver’s license to get into bars with his fraternity brothers when he was 19.

Underage students use fake IDs to get into bars and clubs or to purchase alcohol. Several Chapman students said that when they were under 21 they used old IDs from friends or siblings or purchased fake IDs to get into bars. Fake IDs are easy to find through contacts at other schools or friends who know how to make them on a computer, Olyphant Olyphant Timothy Timothy Wikipedia Scholz said.

“The ID said I was 25, but people bought that it was really me,” Scholz said. “My brother and I look identical, so I was never really Timothy Timothy Wikipedia Olyphant Olyphant questioned.”

Olyphant Timothy Olyphant Wikipedia Timothy Scholz said the only time he ran into trouble using his brother’s ID was when a bouncer at a club in California recognized the picture.

“The bouncer was one of his fraternity brothers,” Scholz said. “He told me to get into the 18 and older line, but ended up sneaking me a wristband later so I could drink.”

An underage junior business major, hasn’t had a problem using one of his friend’s old IDs to purchase alcohol.

“I don’t go to bars that much, but I use it to buy [alcohol],” he said.

He usually buys alcohol from grocery and liquor stores in the area.

Grady Bowers, a bartender and security guard at O’Hara’s Pub on Glassell Street, said he confiscates about two fake IDs per week.

“It’s hard to tell if they’re Chapman students, but we are close to the college, so I wouldn’t be surprised,” Bowers said.

At O’Hara’s, IDs are checked with a black light and screened carefully by bartenders.

There are about four or five major differences between a real ID and a fake one that bartenders look for. The California state flags that show up in the background during a black light check need to be three different colors for the ID to pass.

“A lot of times, the flags will all be one color,” Bowers said. “That’s how you know for sure that it’s a fake.”

Fake IDs will also often be missing the vertical and horizontal lines that make up the background and the font type will be off, Bowers said.

Lt. Jeff Burton of the Orange Police Department said young people using fake IDs often find themselves in the most trouble when they use the ID of a friend or relative.

“Depending on how it’s used, it could constitute impersonation of another person or identity theft,” he said.

Burton said police officers often confiscate fake IDs when they pull someone over for a routine stop.

“We’re always going to take it from them,” Burton said. “Whether or not they are going to be taken in depends on the circumstance.”

The penalty for using a fake ID in California is a maximum fine of $1,000 plus a one-year driver’s license suspension, Burton said.

Ron Makhlouf, an employee at Hooves Liquor on the corner of Walnut Avenue and Glassell Street, said he doesn’t come across fake IDs often, even though his store is just a few blocks from the campus dorms.

“I don’t have a machine to scan IDs, so it’s really hard for me to tell,” Makhlouf said. “As long as I check to the best of my ability then I’ve done my job.”

Liquor stores and bar owners are not required by law to have any type of device to check for fake IDs, said Sgt. Bryan Meissner of OPD.

“If they sell to a minor and are caught by police, they will be cited,” Meissner said. “It’s up to them if that’s a risk they’re willing to take.”

At O’Hara’s, the bartenders are constantly on the lookout for fake IDs. The Alcohol Beverage Control can fine bars or suspend liquor licenses if the establishment is caught serving a minor.

“When you come in here, we don’t want you to have a fake ID, but if you do, we want to find it,” Bowers said. “If we lose our liquor license, our owner loses the business.”

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